The 23rd annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) met from 10 to 13 October 2016 in Kachsiung, Chinese Taipeh. The EU is pleased by the progress made and welcomes science-based decisions on the permitted catch levels for southern bluefin tuna for 2017 and for 2018-2020, as well as the strengthening of the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the ban on large-scale driftnets. The EU regrets that seabird mitigation measures were not adopted due to a lack of sufficient support.

The EU fisheries ministers have agreed on next year's fishing limits (TACs) for ten fish stocks of the Baltic Sea. These TACs were the first to be set in accordance with the long-term management plan for the Baltic basin that had recently been adopted by the Council and the European Parliament.

Fisheries ministers will meet during the AGRIFISH Council in Luxembourg on 10-11 October to discuss the Baltic fishing opportunities for 2017. Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, will present the Commission's proposal tabled on 29 August, and urge ministers to set fishing opportunities at sustainable levels. Decisive action is needed, in particular for western cod, which is experiencing a perilous decline. The Commission's proposals are based on the scientific advice received and are in line with the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and the recently adopted Baltic multiannual fisheries management plan.

A meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in Rome drew to a successful close on 23 September. This meeting was devoted to the implementation of the medium-term strategy for the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries: the assembly agreed on timeframe and prioritisation of actions, funding and quantifiable goals.

The European Commission's yearly proposal for the 2017 fishing opportunities has now been supplemented with figures for the Baltic Sea cod stocks, an item that did not feature in previous versions of this year's Commission's proposals.

The 38th annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) took place from 19 to 23 September 2016 in Varadero, Cuba. NAFO Contracting Parties decided on total allowable catches (TACs) for a number of stocks. Under the leadership of the EU and Canada, NAFO also set the course for improved fisheries management in the high seas.

Fish farmed in the European Union is among the best in the world: a tasty, high-quality dish produced according to the world's strictest health and environmental standards. European aquaculture is also a sector with vast growth potential: today, 57% of the farmed fish consumed in the EU is imported.